Easter Bunny to hide over 8,000 eggs in Ukiah

Grab a basket and get hunting this Easter Sunday, March 31. There are two exciting egg hunts happening, one at 9 a.m., hosted by the Elks Lodge of Ukiah, and another at 2 p.m., hosted by the Ukiah Host Lions Club.

The Elks Lodge of Ukiah is holding an Easter egg hunt at the Elks Lodge on Talmage/Hastings at 9 a.m. The Elks have been hosting an Easter egg hunt for more than 15 years. Marie Bolstad, exalted ruler of the Elks, has organized the Easter egg hunt for the past several years.

"I love to watch the kids waiting for the hunt to begin. They're like wild horses trained to race," she says before she warns that children should arrive before 9 a.m. because the egg hunt lasts five minutes at most. The first 250 children also receive an Easter basket filled with goodies donated by the Elks Lodge members, like stuffed animals and plastic eggs filled with candy and money.

In addition to the baskets, there are plenty of eggs to be found -- hard-boiled and plastic. The eggs are hidden across the Elks Lodge grounds -- in tree limbs, picnic tables and throughout the pee-wee golf course.

Children up to age 14 are invited to participate. The Elks Lodge lawn will be divided into four age groups: 0 to 3 years old, 4 to 6, 7 to 9, and 10 to 13 years old. After the younger groups have found as many eggs as they can, a special group of 14-year-olds called the "Sweepers" come in to clean up the remaining eggs that couldn't be spotted by the little ones.

There is also an Easter breakfast at the Elks Lodge at 9 a.m. The breakfast includes French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, juices, coffee and more. The cost is $6 per person.

"We'll be there rain or shine!" Bolstad reassures.

Later in the day, the Ukiah Host Lions Club will be hiding 400 dozen eggs for local children at Anton Stadium. Eggs hidden in four-inch-long grass don't seem like they would be too difficult to find, but if you're only two feet tall, the task may be a challenge. Luckily the children are separated into age groups (2, 3 and 4- year-olds are on the soccer fields, 5 and 6-year-olds are on the Little League field and 7-10 year olds are in Anton's main baseball field). The 400 dozen eggs that the Ukiah Host Lions Club colors and hides every year apparently get found very quickly by the hundreds of local children who attend. It's more of a race than a hunt really.

"Make sure you get there by 2:00 because the eggs are all found by 2:02!" warns Gary Mirata, a Lions Club volunteer in charge of the egg hunt (sound familiar?).

Two-hundred dozen of the eggs are generously donated by Raley's in Ukiah, and another 200 dozen are bought with Lions fundraising money. The eggs are then hard-boiled and dyed by Lions volunteers at Pleasant View Dairy on Saturday. The next day, the colored eggs are hidden before the children arrive. Several prize eggs are hidden throughout the fields, which can be exchanged for a classic chocolate bunny. And speaking of bunnies, the Easter Bunny is sure to take time out of his busy schedule that day to make his annual appearance.

Go to one, go to both. The Elks egg hunt is perfect if you're looking for an early hunt with breakfast, great prizes and a fun course, while the Lions egg hunt is great if you'd prefer to sleep in and go to an afternoon hunt that has been a Ukiah tradition since the 1940s.